Attempt to censure Richmond mayor over social media posts fails

RICHMOND — An attempt Tuesday night to admonish Richmond Mayor Eduardo Martinez over recent social media posts was met by hours of public comment from both supporters of the mayor and detractors demanding his resignation.

Members of the public packed the Richmond City Council Chambers, overflowing into the city auditorium, to weigh in on a censure resolution brought forward by Vice Mayor Cesar Zepeda and cosponsored by Councilmember Jamelia Brown.

The resolution called for formally admonishing the mayor for amplifying social media posts containing what some consider antisemitic conspiracy theories following the Dec. 14, 2025, mass shooting of a Hanukkah celebration at Australia’s Bondi Beach.

“We’re not censoring the mayor from speaking. This is actually trying to heal the community,” Vice Mayor Cesar Zepeda said during the meeting Tuesday. “As a council, this is on us.”

In addition to disavowing the mayor’s posts, the resolution called for him to meaningfully engage with the Jewish community, participate in at least 16 hours of in-person training on antisemitism and 6 hours of cultural sensitivity and unconscious bias training, redistribute part of his pay to community organizations focused on building community and step down from regional bodies for a year to focus on rebuilding trust.

A vote to consider the resolution as an emergency item failed 2-5, with Zepeda and Brown the lone supporters.

Councilmember Sue Wilson said she wanted the item properly agendized and didn’t believe harm would be caused by waiting two more weeks. Councilmember Claudia Jimenez said she didn’t support censuring Martinez in general, and Councilmember Doria Robinson argued that the resolution was punitive and included language that “leans toward criticizing political speech” she said is warranted, given the death count in Gaza.

Zepeda could choose to bring the resolution back as a regular agenda item for a future council meeting, a decision Brown said she’d support.

“We’re continuing to not help heal for the next two weeks when we can start the healing as early as tomorrow or even later today. That’s the purpose of this resolution. It’s to try to start the healing and healing now,” Zepeda said.

Martinez has for years been an advocate for Palestinian rights, spearheading one of the first ceasefire resolutions in the country following the Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Hamas, a state designated terrorist organization. The attack resulted in 1,200 Israeli deaths and Israel’s counterattack campaign has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians, according to PBS News which cites figures from the Gaza Health Ministry. Those figures do not differentiate between civilians and combatants.

More than 100 community members spoke out Tuesday about how the mayor has advocated for Palestinians, with some saying he should resign for spreading antisemitism and others arguing he’s played a vital role for a marginalized group.

Martinez said he could not support the measure because he felt the authors did not follow the proper process. He accused councilmembers of violating the Brown Act, a state law that governs how elected officials transparently consider issues.

In an interview Wednesday, Martinez said the proper process would have started with a meeting between himself, Zepeda and Brown, who he said should have heard him out before bringing forward a censure resolution.

“Instead, they chose to take the narrative of the JCRC (Jewish Community Relations Council) and run with it,” Martinez said. The regional Jewish advocacy group has been a staunch critic of the mayor.

A censure would have been warranted if he did not commit to repairing harm, Martinez said. In the weeks since the posts came to light, Martinez said he has apologized, reached out to local religious leaders and contacted organizations about sensitivity training.

Rabbi Julia Saxe-Taller of Temple Beth Hillel in Richmond, one of the rabbis Martinez has contacted, said it’s important to her to meet with the mayor. Martinez is “valued for his commitment to justice work,” but is now facing criticism, including from outside the city, for participating in real antisemitism, Saxe-Taller said.

Having witnessed heckling and shouting coming from both sides in the council chamber Tuesday, Saxe-Taller said she feels saddened by how disempowered people feel. Martinez now has the opportunity to help bridge that divide, she said.

“Antisemitism, in addition to directly targeting Jews, is custom built to divide movements for justice,” Saxe-Taller said. “Real repair of the antisemitism that he reposted has the potential to help us build not only unity but also power.”

Martinez said he looks forward to meeting with rabbis but does not intend to publicly apologize any longer.

“When it comes to apologizing, explanations always come off as excuses and so for those who aren’t willing to listen with an open heart, any explanation is an excuse and there’s no point going any further,” Martinez said. “There’s nothing more I can say that hasn’t already been said.”

Martinez said he believes the censure resolution is meant to be used as “propaganda” against him during his bid for re-election. Martinez, Zepeda, Robinson and Councilmember Soheila Bana are all up for re-election in 2026.

Brown said she knew the resolution did not have the votes to pass before the meeting but wanted her colleagues’ decisions on public record. The discussion quickly strayed from the main issue at hand, Brown said, blaming Martinez for not setting a civil tone at the start of the meeting.

“My goal for this was for Richmond to see who their elected officials were in the daylight,” Brown said. “Don’t tell me ‘no’ behind closed doors. Let them tell me ‘no’ on the dais. Tell the impacted people who felt harmed and endangered by the mayor’s actions ‘no’ to their face.”